NDA Lift deadline

Staff MemberMane6 Developer

Hey Guys, as I promised you in a previous post last week, here's an update of where things are, as well as what's in store for the immediate future.

As I mentioned in said post, we've been juggling a few things over the last few weeks. Some of those I can tell you about, some of those haven't fully landed yet.

Beta wise: He's doin' alright. Still twitches when you poke him with a stick, and we took him out of the programming dungeon for his monthly 15-minutes exercise run just three months ago, too.

Development-wise, where we're at: Pretty advanced from where the Backer's Beta started.

As the guys with Backer's Beta access can attest to, the game's receiving updates, bugfixes and new features. In fact, you guys with the purple banners should be seeing a major-ish update added to the pixel lobby mode (which we'll be iterating on the next few days, too), as well as a large amount of cardboard removal in the next immediate patch, which I'm told should be happening either tonight or tomorrow. We hope you guys like what you see.

Regarding the long-expected Backers-Beta NDA Lift: I can tell you with 95%ish certainty that due to administrative and backstage reasons, as well as the fact that we've kept you guys waiting a bit longer than expected, and that we're not letting it slip into next year, will happen no later than September 15, 2017, barring unforeseen circumstances out of our control (i.e. the end of the world as we know it, or ungulates taking over the earth).

And since we're in here, let's squish a bit of the growing speculation: I can tell you that financially (as well as administratively, actively, digestively and morale-wise), Mane6 is still doing very well.

We budgeted specific amounts to specific areas of development, and they've for the most part turned out to be correct, and have even given us a bit of elbow room to maneuver in, even with some unexpected occurrences through the development cycle (We planned for an April release, for example). We're certainly not out of money, nor are we bleeding any. Most of the budget allocated for backer rewards is still there (with the exception, obviously, of that destined to rewards which have already started production, like the plushes) and ready for use. The post-release budget for Mac/Linux ports and for DLC1 (Goat) also remains there in full. Even with the release delay, this ship continues to float, and it doesn't look like we'll need to start plugging any holes with cash. In short, we're pretty much alright.

tl;dr: Development is going fine, and NDA lift has a solid deadline.

We're not doing the first public release as soon as we would have liked to do (April, this year), but that doesn't by any means, shapes, forms, ways or interpretative dances mean that everything is on fire and panic should run amok. We've developed through thick and thin, and are fully committed to Them's Fightin' Herds, to make it the best we can and to continue supporting it well after release.

We ain't goin' nowhere and we ain't givin' up on it. That's a promise

p.s. Enabled justified text in the forum because the lack of it was flipping my tables. Enjoy.

Backers' Beta Tester

I'm looking forward to the cardboard removal. Although I have to admit, the temp image for Paprika's dash makes me smile every time.

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Now that we're about to see (most?) of the cardboard gone, I feel almost nostalgic already. I'm almost wishing you guys do some client-side only "cardboard mode"... or a cardboard palette for everyone! How did Velvet and Arizona look as cardboard cutouts? I'm kinda curious now.

Backers' Beta Tester

Thanks a lot for the update. Funny and informative as always, even if there's still some stuff you can't tell us yet. The NDA lifting will pretty much signal the home stretch. I can foresee it bringing a lot of attention to the game, as well, once people start showing off their beta footage.

And YES, cardboard removal. I gotta see some completed characters. Is Ole ever gonna get her new idle?

Backers' Beta Tester

...crap, got to say something on topic. Um, yay! September 15th is the day before I go to uni, so I've got a full day to spill the top quality beef. TBH, I have no idea what the terms of the NDA were. Was there actually a copy?

Staff MemberMane6 QA

...crap, got to say something on topic. Um, yay! September 15th is the day before I go to uni, so I've got a full day to spill the top quality beef. TBH, I have no idea what the terms of the NDA were. Was there actually a copy?

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If you ran the game and played it, you saw and agreed to the terms of the NDA.

Backers' Beta Tester

If you ran the game and played it, you saw and agreed to the terms of the NDA.

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I did those first two, don't remember the other. I can screenshot you my time in game if you like. Do I have to get past the 12 hour mark? After beating the second boss?

OT so Mane 6 don't try to ban me (again): It's nice to see the budget has actually gone to plan. Unlike Yooka-laylee, where they apparently spent it all on blackjack and Magic cards and then puked something out the day before release.

...crap, got to say something on topic. Um, yay! September 15th is the day before I go to uni, so I've got a full day to spill the top quality beef. TBH, I have no idea what the terms of the NDA were. Was there actually a copy?

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well they said no later than 15th so if your lucky it could be lifted before that

Backers' Beta Tester

I wonder how long it will be between the lift on the 15th and the official release? My guess is quite a while because there will still be so much to make perfect. I can't wait for this NDA to be over though. It's been like having a party but you can't wake up the baby in the next room...

Backers' Beta Tester

From what I understand, yes. Once the NDA is lifted, the game can still only be played by purple banner bearers. Just, then they can share what they are doing with others. So everyone can see what the game looks and plays like because all of the otherwise embarrassing bugs have been killed.

Backers' Beta Tester

I know that I'm guilty of not trying out the beta nearly as much as I should. Partially because been busy lately, but also partially because I'm weird and kind of don't want to spoil myself for the final product? I love following the progress of the game, but at the same time want to have a fresh experience when it's finished. When I do play the beta, I'm mostly just fiddling around and trying to see if anything stands out as glaringly buggy. Thus far not much that I can say for certain. Though I still suck at puppeteering Pom's dogs. I still need to practice that mechanic before I can get used to it.